CHAPTER 2.

The lockers shudder at the same time the next day when Ethan crashes into them making me jump. He looks at me and chuckles, I crack a smile too. He looks at me and then around the room and then back at me

"What are you doing?" I ask

"Looking around?" he says and looks again,

"Why" I say and he ignores me still looking "Why" I say again and nudge him and he looks at me seriously

"Oh no what happened" I say and I feel my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach, he notices my face and his expression changes

"Nothing, nothing bad- but I have to tell you something" he says and I sigh in relief

"Okay, shoot" I reply

"When I tell you this, you need to take second to think" he replies and I nodd

"I am serious boo" he says

"I am listening, and understanding" I reply and he smiles

"Well apparently Alex Cody is asking for you" he replies and I almost choke on my spit

"Really!? What!?- If you are lying I will never talk to you again" I whisper, conscious of anyone who could hear.

"Breath Haley Baley," he says and he puts his pinky up "Pinky promise," he replies, and to us a pinky promise is for real, life or death. I internally scream and subconsciously smile.

"Oh um should I go up to him," I say quickly and Ethan flicks my nose

"No no no wait for him to come to you"

"Okay then" I reply unsure and we finish the chips, hauling back in the car heading back to

"Are you ready for lunch?" he then asks me "I am feeling fries today" he adds and in response I hold up my brown paper bag, filled with my sandwich and apple slices.

"Noo Haley babe, ditch the poo bag" he says whining and I laugh at him

"I can't boo, I didn't eat it yesterday" I say and he makes a pouty face

"Listen, mum made this I will feel bad if I don't eat it- I will come to lunch tomorrow" I say and his face lights up and he hugs me

"Yes, that is what I want to hear" he says

"Good, now go get yourself some yummy fries" I reply and he smiles and kisses my cheek and I smile back

"Meet me at my car after school," he says and he kisses my temple before running down the hallway to the car park, and I shake my head making my way to the outside courtyard, I find an empty table, ignoring the stares and I sit down. I should be used to them, but I'm not.

I put my head down, and close my eyes, this is very overwhelming, and I'm exhausted.

Before Everett died I hated sitting alon, but now, I love the lonely silence. Once he passed I couldn't walk alone for a meter without someone coming and telling me how amazing he was or how much he would be missed.

I like sitting alone now, I don't like being alone in my thoughts, but sitting alone, isolates me from the stress that I get from school. I open my lunch bag and grab out my sandwich and take a few bites before my mind drifts to Alex Rivers, I remember his first day here. 

He was nursing some sort of bruised face, hair tousled, his shirt slightly wrinkled. From that day on I had a crush on him. He was tall, handsome and smart, everything a girl could want. Blake immediately joined the football team and shortly later started dating Leah Brooks, the most popular girl at school and head cheerleader. 

That's when Everett found out and started teasing me for having a crush on Blake. Everett, of course, tried to play the overprotective brother even though I'm 3 minutes older than him, telling me I can't date him, blah blah. That, of course, would never happen considering I am way out of his league and he was totally fixated on Leah. 

Although the two shared a very toxic and unhealthy relationship, which unfolded over a couple of months, they would fight in broad daylight one day and the next day they would make up and be all lovey-dovey again. I will never understand the dynamic between the two. 

Then came the day a week after Everetts accident, she announced she was pregnant- Alex now would definitely never be mine, and it totally sucked bad. But I didn't care about that, all I was focused on was the loss of my brother and his impending funeral.

I finish my dull sandwich and sour apple slices and I put my head back into my arms soaking up the hot sun, discarding my rubbish. The sun is beautiful and for once I am not caught up in my own head. Although my silence is interrupted with the soft sounds of the grass, signally someone is approaching me. I assume it is Ethan. On the days that I don't go and get lunch with him he brings it to me.

"How're the greasy fries?" I start "Is it fulfilling your craving?" I then say

"Don't think I can say it has" the person interrupts, and the voice does not belong to Ethan, and my head snaps up, to see the inquisitive face of Alex James, his sharp facial features, ruffled dark hair, and piercing blue eyes staring at me. I jump slightly at the sight of him

"Oh sorry for scaring you" he says rubbing the back of his neck "I'm Alex" he says taking a seat across from me, placing his backpack on the table, I remind myself to breathe slowly, since first impressions mean everything and I don't want to screw this up.

"I'm Haley-" I start

"Haley Anderson, yes I know," he says and nods his head a little, the air around us goes silent, and I start picking at a loose strand on my jumper before I break the silence

"So I've heard you've been asking for me," I say staring at him and hope he doesn't take it the wrong way, Alex chuckles and cocks his head to the side

"That may have been me," he says "Definitely was me" he adds

"Could I ask why you are looking for me?" I ask him

"You take that baby class right, you are the one who wants to be the baby nurse?" he says

"Sure, you could call it that," I say, holding my head up letting out a small laugh "would you like a recommendation or-?" I ask

"Uh, no," he says and rubs the back of his neck again "I am in desperate need of your help with Adelaide, when they leave me alone with her I'm a freaking mess" he blurts out. Adelaide is his and Leah's daughter. She was born exactly 9 months after Everett's death. 

"Couldn't Leah help you with this?" I say to him and he sighs

"She packed her stuff and left on Thursday," he says

"Leah did what," I say, Alex runs his fingers through his hair making it messier than ever and I can see the tiredness in his eyes, and his face supporting the large dark circles underneath it.

"I guess it was all too much for her" he replies

"What about your parents," I say

"They help when they can, but mum works" he replies

"Oh" I sigh "What about the teachers" I reason

"No, I can't ask them either, you know what they think and say about me," he says and he sounds almost defeated, I do know what they think of him.

Taking care and raising a baby is hard work, I've done enough practice work to know how hard it is, but when I stare at Alex, I see the desperate look in his eyes, and I know that he needs help, I don't know what I could do and if I can actually help, but it's worth a shot. Maybe this will help me get over Everett. After all it seems that the same world that has broken me, has also broken Alex.

"I may not help you much" I warn and he looks down "but I could try," I say and his head immediately snaps up and he smiles

"Thank you!" he says "Could you come over after school?" he then asks

"Oh uh, today?" I ask him and I run through every scenario in my head, and I feel overwhelmed. I haven't had any time to prepare, I have homework and other things to do.

"I could really use the help" he says desperately

"Alright, sure" I nod to him, and I shut of my worries

I don't owe Alex Cody a thing whatsoever, but for some reason, my conscience is telling me that I do. 

Perhaps his cry out for help has tugged on my broken heartstrings, maybe we will be able to heal each other.

...